“Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.” — Ben Franklin

You can cut budgets in many areas, but often, activities that waste your time can cost you the most. Savvy financial advisors see that soft or invisible costs translate into hard dollars lost. To help profits, focus your energy on repairing the “small leaks” in your firm and measure the value of how, and with whom, you spend your time. After assessing which activities add value to your business, eliminate time and energy wasters. Below are five ways you can narrow your focus and enhance your efforts to grow your business, complete with Ben’s wise words.

1. Networking events: If your goal is to improve the overall caliber of your clients, you need to attend events where you’ll find better ones. Don’t continue your memberships in organizations out of habit. As Ben put it, “Never confuse motion with action.” Participate only in groups that provide great contacts and actual business. To figure out which networking events are most worth your time, ask yourself, “Which events draw more of my ideal clients?” Don’t be afraid to be the only financial professional at a networking event. If your ideal clients are attending specific events, it only makes sense for you to be there, too. For example, if your ideal clients are high net worth individuals, consider attending philanthropic advisors’ meetings.

2. Business friends: Have you been spending social time with the same colleagues for years because you’re comfortable with them? Are they at the same level of business as you? Cultivating business relationships is like playing tennis. If you “play” with people who are better than you, your game improves. If you associate with people at your level or below, your game plateaus and you forfeit forward motion. The people you’re meeting for coffee or meals should truly add something to your business and vice-versa. Ben’s useful advice: “Observe all men, thyself most.”

3. Social media: You can spend half your day Twittering your every move, posting interesting comments to Facebook, and searching for new LinkedIn contacts. Needless to say, if you’re using social media for business purposes, you should remain focused and resist the temptation to check out the pictures your colleague posted of his new Mercedes. Also, you must observe the restrictions set by your compliance department. When your social media activity has been approved, it can be a legitimate online marketing tool, but be realistic about your objectives in the Web 2.0 arena. Start writing a blog about things you’re passionate about. In this way, you’ll connect personally with your ideal clients. Join industry-based social media platforms, such as FAtoday, to connect with other financial advisors in a safe environment to discuss topics from business development to portfolio management. As with networking, join LinkedIn groups that your ideal clients join. When you Tweet, post your own messages, but also share information on subjects your ideal clients find interesting. Ben’s useful advice: “Time is money.”

4. Newsletters: Recently, I realized that my inbox was cluttered with newsletters I was receiving simply out of habit. You may think receiving extra email is no big deal. But listen to Ben’s wise words, “A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.” Just the time you focus on deleting emails (multiplied by several checks per day) erodes your profitability. Now, as newsletters arrive in my inbox, I ask myself, “Do I depend on this newsletter for useful information that I can apply to improve my business? Is their business at a level I want to achieve? Do I often learn how to do business better from them?” If the answer is no, then I unsubscribe. Also, consider subscribing to newsletters from people outside the financial industry who may provide new strategies for approaching common challenges all business owners face.

5. Clients: This is a hard cutback to make, especially in this economy. Marketing guru, Seth Godin, wrote that pandering to the masses and casting a wide marketing net leads to “dumb” customers. Dumb customers don’t spend as much, don’t talk as much, don’t blog as much, don’t value your services as much, and don’t evangelize on your behalf. It’s hard to turn down money, but “dumb” customers may take more of your time and energy than their accounts are worth. As Ben said, “Those that won’t be counseled can’t be helped.” To attract the clients who value your services the most (and who you can help the most), have a clear vision — in writing — about your firm and your ideal clients. When you have a written vision of your company’s direction and know everything humanly imaginable about your ideal client, you’ll be less likely to dumb down and much more likely to start attracting high-quality clients–those who know what you do and value the results you produce for them, and benefit the most.

Action Plan

Evaluate the five areas above A.S.A.P. (as soon as possible) so you can turn them into good habits before 2014 even begins! The more energy and time wasters you trim from your daily schedule, the quicker you’ll be on your way to growing your firm. By taking charge and focusing on the things that add value to your business, you might even enjoy your work more, delight in your clients, make the money you deserve, and own more of your time. Ben’s final word? “Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure.”